Samuel Wootton Beall (June 16, 1807September 26, 1868) was an American

land speculator In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable in a brief amount of time. It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline i ...

, lawyer, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

pioneer. He was the second

lieutenant governor of Wisconsin The lieutenant governor of Wisconsin is the first person in the Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Wisconsin, line of succession of Wisconsin's executive branch, thus serving as governor in the event of the death, resignation, ...

(1850–1852) and lost his leg at the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater of the ...

, as a Union Army officer in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Early life

Born in

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, Maryland ...

, Beall graduated from

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

, in 1827.

Career

Beall moved to what is now

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...

, in 1835, where he made a fortune in land speculation, and was admitted to the bar and practiced law. In the 1840s, he settled in Taycheedah. Between 1832 and 1856, Beall loaned the Stockbridge and Munsee Indians' delegations to Washington, D.C. some $3,000 for their expenses while they pursued claims against the federal government. He was promised one third of whatever they recovered, but when they won their case, he claimed and recovered only his actual expenditures. Beall was a delegate to both the first and second Wisconsin constitutional conventions from Marquette County, one of only six men to do so, as most members of the first convention declined to serve in the second. Beall was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

and was lieutenant governor for Nelson Dewey's second term as

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, from 1850 until 1852. During the American Civil War, he was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel of the 18th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment under Colonel James S. Alban. The 18th Wisconsin was organized in February 1862, proceeded to

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

in March, and was thrown into battle at Shiloh a day after its arrival. Beall was wounded in the battle and his leg was amputated below the knee. Colonel Alban was killed, along with the Regiment's third-in-command, Major Josiah W. Crane. After recovering, Beall was second-in-command of a

prisoner of war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, ...

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. ...

, where the prisoners nicknamed him "old peg-leg" and accused him of a pattern of repeated cruelty and abuse.

Death

After briefly returning to Wisconsin after the war, Beall moved to

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat, seat of Lewis and Clark County, Montana, Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold ...

, where, on September 26, 1868, he was shot following an argument with a newspaper editor. He was re-interred in 1907 at Forestvale Cemetery in Helena.

Family life

The son of Lewis and Eliza Beall, in 1829, he married Elizabeth Fenimore Cooper, a niece of

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonial and indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

, and they had seven children. His eldest daughter, Mary Morris Beall, was the second wife of Levi Hubbell, a prominent Wisconsin lawyer, judge and Democratic politician in early Wisconsin.

Electoral history

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 6, 1849

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beall, Samuel 1807 births 1868 deaths Lieutenant governors of Wisconsin People murdered in Montana People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Union army colonels People from Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin Politicians from Green Bay, Wisconsin Politicians from Helena, Montana People from Montgomery County, Maryland Union College (New York) alumni Wisconsin Democrats Wisconsin lawyers 19th-century Wisconsin politicians 19th-century American lawyers People murdered in 1868